Feed control system for combine

ABSTRACT

A mechanism for improving the efficiency of threshing in a combine between a feed conveyor chain and a threshing cylinder. The mechanism includes a paddle wheel disposed between the chain and the cylinder for smoothly force feeding material from the chain onto the rasp bar surface of the cylinder. The housing of the conveyor chain has a door formed on the upper end thereof for permitting the return of incompletely threshed material onto the conveyor chain. This allows the mixing of the incompletely threshed material with the unprocessed material riding on the conveyor chain thereby substantially decreasing the likelihood of damage to incompletely threshed material as it becomes redelivered to the threshing cylinder via the paddle wheel.

United States Patent Stewart F. Metzger Route #4;

[72] Inventors Wallace T. Dirks, 1723 Nixon Ave., both of a m M 9 a lpss m a N11 0 N mm AH 1] 2 22 [.1

[ Patented Dec-28,1971 ABSTRACT: A mechanism for improving theefficiency of threshing in a combine between a feed conveyor chain and athreshing cylinder. The mechanism includes a paddle wheel disposedbetween the chain and the cylinder for smoothly force feeding materialfrom the chain onto the rasp bar sur- [54] FEED CONTROL SYSTEM FORCOMBINE 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] [1.5. 130/27 F face of the cylinder. The housing of the conveyorchain has a A0 12/52 door formed on the upper end thereof for permittingthe return of incompletely threshed material onto the conveyor chain.This allows the mixing of the incompletely threshed material with theunprocessed material riding on the conveyor chain thereby substantiallydecreasing the likelihood of damage to incompletely threshed material asit becomes Int.

[50] Field oiSearch............................................ 130/27R,

27 F, 27 H,27 HA [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1966Jarvis 130 27 F redelivered to the threshing cylinder via the paddlewheel.

PATENTEDnzczaum 3,630,20

SHEET 1 BF 3 Stewart FT Mefzgr Wallace T. Dir/rs III/[5A TOKS by QM W mmPATENTED nines I97! SHEET 2 OF 3 Fig.3

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" WWW 19% FEED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR COMBINE The present invention relatesto combine feed control mechanisms.

The conventional combine includes a feed conveyor chain enclosed withina housing and serves to deliver cut material from the field toathreshing cylinder having rasp bars on the surface thereof. The barsrotate above a threshing grate through which the threshed materialfalls. A separator assembly in the combine collects incompletelythreshed material and conveys it to a cross auger which in turn feedsthe incompletely threshed material onto the top of the cylinder forreprocessing. Although present combines operate satisfactorily, it hasbeen found that significant portion of the threshed material becomesinjured due to bunching in the space between the outlet end of theconveyorchain and the threshing cylinder. Also, injury occurs toincompletely threshed material along the redelivery path.

The primary object of the present invention is to facilitate evenfeeding into aslow moving threshing cylinder. A slow moving cylinder isrequired in certain seed crops to reduce mechanical injury and maintaingermination at the highest possible level.

Germination standard are established by the US. Government and stateagencies and when these standards are not met, serious financial lossescan be incurred by the grower because the crop is drastically reduced invalue, if it is not usable for seed. In most cases these losses can betraced directly to mechanical damage caused by high cylinder speeds orother controllable factors when the crop is threshed. Whenever thecylinder is slowed down beyond a certain tolerable speed, a largeportion of the crop is thrown out on the ground and lost.

When a threshing machine cylinder is running at low speeds the materialbeing fed into the machine cannot be taken into the cylinder fast enoughso that there is a tendency for this incompletely threshed material tobuildup in front of the cylinder and be carried back to he conveyorchain for partial return to the lower inlet end thereof. Thus, withrespect to this material, undesired feedback of the material to theconveyor chain inlet occurs resulting in material loss back to thefield.

By virtue of the present invention, a. paddle wheel is disposedintermediate the outlet end of the conveyor chain and the threshingcylinder. The paddles on the wheel are timed to coincide with theconveying cross members on the chain which bring the material up to thecylinder. This timing brings about smooth and continuous force feedingof unthreshed material into the cylinder by the paddle wheel.

The housing which encloses the paddle wheel is sloped downwardly towardthe cylinder at a reduced angle of flow relative to conventionalcombines, and because of the combined action of the force feeding by thepaddles and the downward slop of the housing, very little, if anymaterial is returned to the conveyor chain for reprocessing asincompletely threshed material. Due to this high efficiency, a markedreduction in the risk of mechanical injury to the seed is realized.Normally, such injury would occur from continuously subjecting theincompletely threshed material to the feeder chain, cylinder, and thesupporting housing. The feed control apparatus of the present inventionprevents bunching of unthreshed vines and other extraneous materialwhich is a constant annoyance to the machine operator resulting in timeconsumption and financial loss during the harvest season.

A further object of the present invention is to modify the usual returnroute for incompletely threshed material so that it becomes depositedahead of the cylinder and mixed with newly introduced material. Thisreduces any mechanical damage that can occur from bare seed falling ontop of rotating cylinder as it does in conventional threshers.

Still another object of the present invention is to mount arcuate blankplates between the rasp bars on the threshing cylinder so that thespaces between these bars are substantially reduced. This in effectforces all material to pass between the cylinder and the. threshinggrate to preclude material from escaping unthreshed through the spacesin the cylinder between the rasp bars. This loss usually amounts to asubstantial portion of a crop where a slow moving cylinder is involved.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary cutaway view illustrating the components of thepresent invention in the environment of a modified conventional combine.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view illustrating a return route for incompletelythreshed material.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view illustrating of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4'is a sectional view illustrating the disposition of the presentpaddle wheel between the conveyor chain and the threshing cylinder.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along a plane passing through sectionline 5-5 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the figures and initially FIG. 1, reference numeral 12generally indicates the region of a conventional combine which includesthe improvements constituting the present invention. Briefly, a housing14 encloses the usual feeder conveyor chain 16 having crosspieces 16 forcarrying cut material up the housing for further processing by combinecomponents. In the improvement of the present invention a paddle wheel20 is positioned between the upper outlet end of the conveyor chain 16and a threshing cylinder 22, the latter the return route usually beingpositioned adjacent the outlet end of the conveyor chain. By modifyingconventional structure to include the paddle wheel 20, a more efficientthreshing process can be realized. A threshing grate 24 is disposedbelow the cylinder 22 which allows threshed material to fall through thegrate onto a conveyor 26; Subsequent processing screens, well known inthe art, are generally indicated by reference numeral 28 and serve toseparate completely threshed material from incompletely threshedmaterial. The incompletely threshed material falls on housing floor 30andis subsequently fed to an elevator 34 wherein the unthreshed materialis received by a cross auger 33. An enclosed chute generally indicatedby 34 provides a flow path between the auger and an opening 35 formed inthe top wall of the conveyor chain housing [4. Thus, the incompletelythreshed material is returned to the threshing apparatus by beingdeposited directly upon the conveyor chain which has the effect ofdecreasing injury to the return incompletely threshed material. 7

Referring to FIG. 4, the components of the present invention will beseen in greater particularity to include a housing for the paddle wheel20 having upper and lower walls 36 connecting the outlet end of theconveyor chain 16 and the entrance space adjacent the threshing cylinder22. A lower reinforcing wall 38 mounts a strip 40 which bridges thehousing wall 38 with the lower conveyor chain housing 14 for decreasingdribble from the outlet end of the conveyor chain.

The structure of the paddle wheel 20 is seen to rotate relative to adriving shaft 41 which is disposed in parallel spaced relation to theshaft of the upper sprocket wheel 43 that drives the upper end of thechain conveyor 16. A cylindrical hub 44 is concentrically mountedonshaft 41 and four push blades 46 are tangentially mounted to the hubin quadrant spaced relationship.

As will be more clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, a number of alignedspaced webs are connected between the hub 44 and a lower end of eachtrailing blade surface. Referring to FIG. 4, the connection of thereinforcing webs 48 to each blade 46 is seen to complete triangularpaddle wheel sections the apex edge of each section mounting a narrowrectangular plate 50 which increases the paddling efficiency of thewheel.

As the paddle wheel rotates, unthreshed material is pushed through thepaddle wheel housing and onto the surface of the threshing cylinder 22.It has been found that by inclining the lower paddle wheel housing wall36 to an acute angle less than 45 the efficiency of feeding theunthreshed material from the paddle wheel to the cylinder issubstantially increased. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the threshingcylinder 52 includes a number of peripherally spaced and axiallyextending rasp bars 52 that characterize the conventional cylinder.However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spacesbetween these rasp bars are filled with arcuate blank plates 54 whichminimize the space between the bars. By so doing, it has been found thata greater proportion of the material delivered to the cylinder becomescompletely threshed.

For that portion of the material falling through grate 24 which does notbecome completely threshed, means are provided for conveyingincompletely threshed material to a cross auger 57. A return conduit 34is mounted to the combine so that a communicating path is developedbetween auger 57 and an opening 35 cut in the conveyor chain housing 14.The conduit 34 has upper and lower downwardly inclined walls 56 and 58opening at their lowest end over the upper end 60 of the conveyor chainhousing 14. A flap door 62 covering the opening 35 is opened about hinge64 and suitably secured in an open position so that incompletelythreshed material exits from the conduit 34 and becomes deflected bydoor 62 through an opening 35 for deposit onto the conveyor chain 16. Aspreviously mentioned, the returned incompletely threshed materialbecomes mixed with the unthreshed material to minimize the likelihood ofmechanical injury to bare seed as the returned incompletely threshedmaterial is subjected to the conveyor chain, paddle wheel, and threshingcylinder.

Referring to FlGS. 2 and 3, a first sprocket wheel 66 keyed to paddlewheel shaft 41, will be seen to be mounted on the exterior of the paddlewheel housing and serves to mount a link chain 68. In a similar manner,chain 68 entrains a sprocket wheel 67 at the opposite end thereof, thelatter sprocket wheel driving the upper end of the conveyor chain 16(FIG. 4). As indicated in FIG. 2, a main driving chain 69 producesmotion of the conveyor chain and the connected sprocket wheel 67. Thus,by virtue of the link chain 68 connecting sprocket wheels 66 and 67,synchronous rotation of the conveyor chain and the paddle wheel iseffected to produce efficient conveyance of material from the conveyorchain to thethreshing cylinder.

A bolt 72 has a lower end thereofjournaling shaft 41 while an upper endof bolt 72 is received within a bracket 70 mounted to the paddle wheelhousing. By adjusting the bolt 72 relative to bracket 70, the elevationof paddle wheel 41 relative to the upper outlet end of the conveyorchain (FIG. 4) can be varied.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a combine incorporating a feeder conveyor chain and a rasp barcylinder rearward of the outlet end of the feed conveyor chain, amaterial delivery unit disposed between the outlet end of the feederconveyor chain and the rasp bar cylinder, said delivery unit comprisinga housing for providing passage between the conveyor chain and thecylinder, a paddle wheel positioned in the housing for a timed forcefeeding of material from the conveyor chain outlet to the cylinder toinsure a smooth continuing and nonbunching flow thereto, timing meansinterrelated between the conveyor chain and the paddle for feedingmaterial from the conveyor chain to the wheel at a predetermined ratefor subsequent force feeding of the material to the cylinder also at apredetermined rate, a return system for receiving and reintroducingincompletely threshed material, said return system receiving theincompletely threshed material beyond the rasp bar cylinder andtransporting the incom letely threshed material along a return path forsubsequent eposlt thereof on the feeder conveyor chain at a pointforward the conveyor chain outlet for a subsequent timed receptionthereof by the paddle wheel and reintroduction t0 the rasp bar cylinderwhereby the rate of material introduction to and through the paddlewheel is not affected by the recycling of the incomplete threshedmaterial, and an elongated housing about said conveyor chain, saidhousing having an opening in the top thereof exposing the conveyor chainforward of the outlet thereof, said return system incorporating augermeans and elevator means effecting a direct discharge of theincompletely threshed material through the housing opening. I

2. The combine of claim 1 wherein the paddle wheel comprises a drivenhub having a plurality of tangentially orientated blades secured theretoand projecting a substantial distance outwardly therefrom at equallyspaced points thereabout, and a plurality of blade reinforcing websconnected between the hub and the trailing surface of each bladeadjacent the other edge thereof.

1. In a combine incorporating a feeder conveyor chain and a rasp barcylinder rearward of the outlet end of the feeder conveyor chain, amaterial delivery unit disposed between the outlet end of the feederconveyor chain and the rasp bar cylinder, said delivery unit comprisinga housing for providing passage between the conveyor chain and thecylinder, a paddle wheel positioned in the housing for a timed forcefeeding of material from the conveyor chain outlet to the cylinder toinsure a smooth continuing and nonbunching flow thereto, timing meansinterrelated between the conveyor chain and the paddle for feedingmaterial from the conveyor chain to the wheel at a predetermined ratefor subsequent force feeding of the material to the cylinder also at apredetermined rate, a return system for receiving and reintroducingincompletely threshed material, said return system receiving theincompletely threshed material beyond the rasp bar cylinder andtransporting the incompletely threshed material along a return path forsubsequent deposit thereof on the feeder conveyor chain at a pointforward the conveyor chain outlet for a subsequent timed receptionthereof by the paddle wheel and reintroduction to the rasp bar cylinderwhereby the rate of material introduction to and through the paddlewheel is not affected by the recycling of the incompletely threshedmaterial, and an elongated housing about said conveyor chain, saidhousing having an opening in the top thereof exposing the conveyor chainforward of the outlet thereof, said return system incorporating augermeans and elevator means effecting a direct discharge of theincompletely threshed material through the housing opening.
 2. Thecombine of claim 1 wherein the paddle wheel comprises a driven hubhaving a plurality of tangentially orientated blades secured thereto andprojecting a substantial distance outwardly therefrom at equally spacedpoints thereabout, and a plurality of blade reinforcing webs connectedbetween the hub and the trailing surface of each blade adjacent theother edge thereof.